The fast-paced and highly competitive nature of the modern business landscape demands that companies constantly seek ways to stay ahead of the curve. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by harnessing the power of cloud computing. With recent advancements in technology, cloud solutions have gained increasing popularity and have emerged as game changers for businesses seeking to optimize their operations, reduce costs, boost performance, and enhance agility. Against this backdrop, migrating SAP Commerce to the public cloud (CCV2) presents a logical and strategic step for businesses keen to leverage the full spectrum of benefits offered by cloud solutions.
Essential Activities for an Effective SAP Commerce Migration
Identify Refactoring Priorities
To ensure optimal performance and cost efficiency of workloads, it’s crucial to assess the existing features and determine which ones require refactoring to leverage dedicated cloud functionality. This investigation should also consider whether to keep some features as they are or eliminate them. To make informed decisions, evaluate whether adopting out-of-the-box cloud functionality would result in significant cost reduction or improved performance. The decision on what to change should align with your overall cloud strategy and business objectives.
Verify Compatibility
Not all versions of SAP Commerce accelerators, modules, extensions, integrations, and other components are supported by SAP Commerce in the public cloud (CCV2). In certain instances, it may be necessary to upgrade to a newer version of SAP Commerce Cloud.
Identify Priorities for Data Maintenance and Cleanup
Determining the key areas for data maintenance and cleanup is crucial in ensuring a smooth SAP Commerce migration to CCV2. Clean data processes are highly recommended before initiating the migration process, as this step can significantly reduce the time required for the migration and improve performance by eliminating any negative impact from having unnecessary data. This step is a vital part of any successful SAP Commerce migration and should not be overlooked.
Determine Which Configurations Need to be Migrated to the Cloud Environment
As organizations move towards the cloud, it is essential to determine which configurations need to be migrated to the cloud environment. In the case of an SAP Commerce project, most configuration settings can be reused, but it is crucial to consider specific configurations that need to be adapted to the SAP Commerce Cloud environment. This process could include managing IP traffic, configuring hostname aliases for IP resolution, setting up IP filters, SSL Certificates, redirects, maintenance pages, and whitelists. By evaluating and migrating the required configurations, organizations can ensure that their SAP Commerce project runs seamlessly on the cloud.
Execute Performance Checks
Ensuring the performance of your SAP Commerce Cloud solution is crucial in maintaining a positive customer experience and building trust in your brand. By conducting a thorough performance test, you can identify and prevent potential issues such as instability and outages. It is important to note that code optimized for your current system may require further tuning to ensure optimal performance on your SAP Commerce Cloud solution; thus minimizing the risk of any performance degradation during the migration process.
Go Live and Cut-Over
During the migration process, it is advisable to maintain an activity log to document the steps taken to set up and configure each environment. This methodical approach can help create a comprehensive go-live checklist as each environment is migrated to the new system. This checklist can then serve as the foundation of the go-live plan. By taking these steps, you can help to ensure a successful go-live and minimize the risk of disruptions to your business operations.
Key Technical Aspects to Keep in Mind
Integrating an Email Service with SAP Commerce Cloud with the New Commerce Cloud Email Services
As SAP Commerce Cloud Build Platform does not include an SMTP relay server, there are several recommended methods to enable external email-sending capabilities with the system:
- Utilize your own self-hosted SMTP server
- Leverage a third-party SMTP service provider
- Integrate with an email service that offers API-based email-sending capabilities.
By employing one of these options, you can enable email-sending capabilities and ensure effective communication with customers and other stakeholders.
Image resizing strategy for SAP Commerce Cloud
Resizing images is a typical requirement for SAP Commerce, and this can be achieved using a local installation of ImageMagick software, which is typically hosted on the same system as the SAP Commerce installation. In SAP Commerce Cloud, ImageMagick is provided as a part of a different extension known as cloudmediaconversion, and adopting this extension is necessary to continue using ImageMagick.
Another alternative is to integrate with an external Digital Asset Management system (DAM) that can be connected to your SAP Commerce Cloud solution. This approach can also provide additional capabilities beyond simple image resizing, such as advanced metadata management and media workflow automation. By exploring these options, you can determine the best approach for your image resizing needs and ensure that your SAP Commerce Cloud solution is effectively configured to meet your business requirements.
Migrate from Hot-Folders to Cloud Hot-Folders
The integration between file-based data and SAP Commerce has evolved from using standard Hot Folders to using Cloud Hot Folders in SAP Commerce Cloud. One significant difference between these two approaches is the location of the file to be imported. In SAP Commerce Cloud, files for import will need to be stored in the designated Azure Blob Storage provided by the platform, as opposed to on a local system or server.
Top compelling reasons for migrating to SAP Commerce in the Public Cloud
Scalability: A cloud-based e-commerce platform, such as SAP Commerce Cloud, can provide greater scalability and flexibility than an on-premise solution. This allows businesses to easily adapt to changing traffic and data needs.
Cost savings: An on-premise e-commerce solution requires a significant investment in hardware and IT resources. A cloud-based solution, on the other hand, eliminates the need for these upfront costs and can provide cost savings in the long run.
Improved security: Cloud providers, like SAP, have invested heavily in security infrastructure, which can provide an extra layer of protection for sensitive data.
Disaster Recovery: If your service experiences a prolonged interruption, rest assured that the SAP Commerce Cloud disaster recovery plan is designed to swiftly restore your infrastructure, resources, and applications in a secondary site as quickly as possible
Reach Out
This article provides a comprehensive guide for businesses that are considering migrating from SAP Commerce on-premise to SAP Commerce in the public cloud. The benefits of such a migration include increased scalability, cost savings, improved security, and access to the latest features. By following the steps outlined in the article, businesses can plan and execute a smooth and successful migration.
Additionally, if there are any specific scenarios that require more clarification or assistance, the Perficient team is available to help. With the proper preparation and support, transitioning to CCV2 can be a valuable investment for businesses looking to modernize their commerce solutions.
